2025, the production of lithium carbonate increased, while the production of lithium hydroxide was basically flat. The production and sales of
new energy vehicles continued to grow rapidly, and the installed capacity of power batteries increased year on year. In the first half of the year, some enterprises stopped production for maintenance, while some enterprises gradually increased production. Overall, the output of lithium salt remained stable. The downward trend of product prices has led to a decrease in the willingness of enterprises to sell and an increase in the inventory of enterprises. The production and sales of power batteries and new energy vehicles maintained rapid growth, the proportion of lithium iron phosphate loading continued to increase, and the retail penetration of new energy vehicles continued to grow.
First, the price
of lithium products in June 2025, the domestic price of lithium carbonate fell first and then rose. The price of battery-grade lithium carbonate rose from yuan/ton 60300 at the beginning of the month to yuan/ton 61400 at the end of the month, up 1.82%, and the lowest point was yuan/ton 59300 on June 23. The price of industrial-grade lithium carbonate rose from 58,700 yuan/ton at the beginning of the month to yuan/ton 59800 at the end of the month, up 1.87%; The closing price of the main contract rose from yuan/ton 59940 at the beginning of the month to yuan/ton 62260 at the end of the month, up 3.
In the first half of 2025, the current price of lithium carbonate showed a downward trend as a whole. The price of battery-grade lithium carbonate has dropped by 17.5% from the 75500 of RMB/ton at the beginning of the year; the closing price of the main contract has dropped by 18.1-4 months from the 77800 of RMB/ton at the beginning of the year. After the Spring Festival, the lithium salt plant has gradually resumed production, the downstream demand has warmed up, and the price of lithium carbonate has been running above 70,000 yuan/ton; From April to June, the production of lithium salt gradually increased, the price of lithium ore in Australia began to decline, the tariff policy of the United States led to the expected decline in downstream exports, and the price of lithium carbonate entered a rapid downward range. In late June, the price of lithium carbonate gradually stabilized, the lowest price of battery-grade lithium carbonate was 59300 yuan/ton on June 23, and the spot price rose in the later period.
Figure 2 In terms of market turnover of lithium hydroxide price (yuan/ton)
in the first half of the year, the average daily turnover of lithium carbonate futures in June was 436000 hands, an increase of 47000 hands over the previous month; The average daily open interest was 600,000 lots, an increase over the previous month. 7. In the first half of the year, the average daily trading volume and open interest of the market remained basically stable from January to April, and rose sharply from May to June, with an increase of about 200,000 lots, indicating a significant increase in market activity.
In June, the output of lithium carbonate in China increased. According to the statistics of Lithium Branch of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, in June 2025, the output of lithium carbonate in China was about 70000 tons, up 3.2% annually; The output of lithium hydroxide in China is about 35000 tons, which is about 100000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in June. Month-on-month increase 2.
Table 1 China's lithium salt production
in June 2025 and the first half of 2025
The top three provinces (regions) of lithium carbonate production in China are Jiangxi, Sichuan and Qinghai, with output of 26000 tons, 16000 tons and 1. In the first half of the year, the top three provinces (regions) of lithium carbonate production in China are Jiangxi, Sichuan and Qinghai. The output was 147,000 tons, 88,000 tons, 6.
Figure 5 Output of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide by province (region) in June (ton)
Note: Historical data has been revised.
3. Import and export
of lithium products In June 2025, the import volume of spodumene concentrate in China decreased on a month-on-month basis, while the import volume of lithium carbonate decreased on a month-on-month basis, of which the import of lithium concentrate mainly came from Australia, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. In the first half of the year, China's imports of lithium concentrates increased by 35.6% year-on-year, imports of lithium carbonate increased by 10.7% year-on-year, and exports of lithium hydroxide decreased by 59.
In terms of imports, China imported 576000 tons of lithium concentrates in June, a decrease of 4. The price of imported lithium ore decreased in the first half of the year. As the cost of lithium ore exerted a higher cost pressure on lithium salt plants, the price of lithium ore in Australia decreased from US $850/ton to US $600/ton from March to June with the decrease in the price of lithium carbonate. Overseas lithium mine reports show that Australian lithium mine production is stable and the probability of subsequent production reduction is low.
Figure 7 In the first half of the year, China imported 18000 tons of lithium carbonate from major countries (tons)
in June, a decrease of 16.3%, and the average import price was 73000 yuan/ton, an increase of 7. Among them, about 1. In the first half of the year, China imported 118000 tons of lithium carbonate from Chile.
Figure 8 China's lithium carbonate imports (tons) and the proportion of major importing countries (%)
In terms of exports, China exported 0.6 million tons of lithium hydroxide in June, an increase of 12. The average export price of lithium hydroxide in June was 78000 yuan/ton. In the first half of the year, China exported 28000 tons of lithium hydroxide. Year-on-year decline of 59.
Figure 9 Export volume of lithium hydroxide in China (ton) and proportion of major exporters (%)
Table 2 Import and export volume of lithium products in the first half of 2025 (ton)
1. Battery
output: In June, the total output of power and other batteries in China was 129.2G Wh, representing a month-on-month increase of 4.6% and a year-on-year increase of 51.1-6
months, and the cumulative output of power and other batteries in China was 697.3G Wh.
Figure 10 Output (MWh)
and sales volume of power batteries and other batteries in the past year: In June, the sales volume of power batteries and other batteries in China was 131.4G Wh, representing a month-on-month increase of 6.3% and a year-on-year increase of 41.1-6
months. The cumulative sales volume of power and other batteries in China was 659.0 GWh, representing a year-on-year increase of 63.
Figure 11 Sales volume of power batteries (MWh)
in the past year Export: In June, the total export volume of power and other batteries in China was 24.4G Wh, representing a month-on-month increase of 27.9%. Year-on-year growth 22. Total exports accounted for the monthly sales volume of 18.1.
From January to June, China's cumulative exports of power and other batteries reached 127.3GWh, a cumulative year-on-year growth of 56. Total cumulative exports accounted for the cumulative sales volume of the previous six months 19.
The loading volume of power batteries in China was 58.2G Wh, with a month-on-month increase of 1.9% and a year-on-year increase of 35. Among them, the loading volume of ternary batteries was 10.7 GWh, accounting for 18.4% of the total loading volume, with a month-on-month increase of 2.0% and a year-on-year decrease of 3.4%; The loading volume of lithium iron phosphate batteries was 47.4G Wh, accounting for 81.5% of the total loading volume, with a month-on-month increase of 1.9% and a year-on-year increase of 49.1-6
months. The cumulative loading volume of power batteries in China was 299.6G Wh, with a cumulative year-on-year increase of 47. Among them, the cumulative loading volume of ternary batteries was 55.5G Wh, accounting for 18.5% of the total loading volume. Cumulative year-on-year decline of 10.8%; The cumulative loading volume of lithium iron phosphate batteries was 244.0 GWh, accounting for 81.4% of the total loading volume, with a cumulative year-on-year increase of 73.
Figure 12 Power battery loading volume in the past year (MWh)
2.
The production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 1.268 million and 1.329 million respectively, up 26.4% and 26.7% respectively from the same period last year. The sales of new energy vehicles reached 45.6 months of the total sales of automobiles, and the domestic sales of new energy vehicles reached 1.124 million, up 2.7% annually and 16.7% year-on-year. From
January to June, the production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 6.968 million and 6.937 million respectively, up 41.4% and 40.3% respectively from the same period last year. The sales of new energy vehicles reached 44.1-June of the total sales of automobiles, and the domestic sales of new energy vehicles reached 5.878 million. Year-on-year growth of 35.5%, accounting for 46% of domestic automobile sales.
Figure 13 Output and year-on-year growth rate of new energy vehicles in the past year (units,%)
Figure 14 Sales and year-on-year growth rate of new energy vehicles in the past year (units,%)
Export. The export of new energy vehicles was 205000, down 3.6% from the previous year and up 1. Among them, the export of pure electric vehicle was 130000, down 6.1% from the previous year and doubled from the previous year; Plug-in hybrid vehicles exported 75000, an increase of 1.1% over the previous year, an increase of 2.1-6
months, new energy vehicles exported 1.06 million, an increase of 75. Among them, pure electric vehicles exported 670000, an increase of 40.2% over the previous year; 390000 plug-in hybrid vehicles were exported. Year-on-year growth of 2.
1. Recycled black powder raw materials for lithium-ion batteries that meet the requirements of Schedule 1 are not solid wastes and can be imported freely. Recycled black powder raw materials cannot be mixed with other types of recycled raw materials, and different types of recycled raw materials are not allowed to be declared under the same customs declaration form. Imported recycled black powder raw materials are not allowed to be in bulk, and different types of recycled black powder raw materials should be classified and placed.
2. The customs commodity number of recycled black powder raw materials for lithium-ion batteries is 3824999996. The customs commodity number is only for reference of customs declaration.
3. The inspection of recycled black powder raw materials for lithium-ion batteries shall be carried out in accordance with the technical specifications of the customs industry to determine whether they meet the requirements of the indicators in Schedule 1.
On June 19, the Equipment Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Quality Development Bureau of the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration, and the Fire Supervision Department of the State Fire Rescue Bureau jointly held a video conference on strengthening the safety management of new energy vehicles. To study and deploy the safety management of new energy vehicles in 2025.
The meeting demanded that vehicle manufacturers and power battery manufacturers should consciously shoulder the main responsibility of product quality and safety, do a good job of risk prevention around product design verification, production and manufacturing, after-sales service and other aspects, strictly fulfill the obligation of informing, guide consumers to use vehicles correctly, not exaggerate and false publicity, and firmly adhere to the bottom line of safety. We must adhere to the long-term doctrine, not engage in "involution" competition, and never cut corners, shoddy, and achieve short-term "cost reduction and efficiency enhancement" at the expense of product performance and product quality. According to reports, next step, the three departments will further strengthen work coordination, promote information sharing, organize and carry out safety hazard investigation and defect investigation, intensify supervision and inspection of production consistency, urge enterprises to enhance the efficiency of safety monitoring platform, seriously investigate and punish enterprise violations, and resolutely safeguard the good order of industrial development. To promote the development of China's intelligent network new energy automobile industry to achieve high quality.